The First Week

It dawned on me yesterday that I haven't actually written about anything that has happened since the volunteers arrived, so here you have it, an overdue update.

The UKVs arrived on the evening of the 28th and it took them a record breaking 2 hours to collect their bags and get out of the airport, they are now at the top of the leaderboard for bag-collection time, not that there are any winners in this competition. Anyway.

The UKVs and ICVs (In Country Volunteers) then had three days of In Country Orientation (ICO- prepare yourself for many acronyms) which included language lessons, health and safety briefings, learning about the strategy of VSO Nepal, etc etc. I unfortunately had to miss one session as I finally got hit with food poisoning, although I did have a glorious 3 and a half weeks without getting it. Sadly we lost one of the UKVs during this time due to personal reasons, but it was all dealt with very well by VSO.

After the ICO we headed off to Besi Sehar which is the administrative capital of Lamjung, the district we are working in. With a lot of persuasion we managed to get a great deal on the best hotel in Besi Sehar, which was one final bit of luxury for the volunteers but has now ruined us for the next 10 weeks. In Besi Sehar the volunteers had 4 days of InCO (In Community Orientation) which was led by yours truly and my counterpart, Rahul. The InCO mainly consisted of learning how to facilitate, setting goals and preparing for life in the community. I really enjoyed leading the InCO and it has given me plenty of experience in training and facilitating sessions, which I 100% would not have been able to do this time last year. Thanks ICS.

There were lots of mixed emotions over these few training days as the reality of the programme kicked in for the volunteers. Having never seen the community before there were lots of questions about the toilets and electricity, as well as some doubts as to what we are going to do for the next few weeks. I've spent a lot of time recently reassuring the volunteers about how much they will get out of this project and how beneficial it is to the community. I have no doubt that in a few weeks time they will be wondering what they were ever worried about.



On the last night of InCO, myself and Rahul put everyone into their counterpart pairs and told them where they would be living and working for the next 10 weeks. This was by far the hardest task I've had to do yet as it is such a crucial part of the programme. If you mess up the counterpart pairs you could really affect the way the volunteers work for the duration of our time here. So no pressure...

After InCO training it was finally the big day to leave for our communities. The bus, as always, was very late and completely unsuitable for the roads it was about to travel down. It was a long and emotional day dropping all of the volunteers off at their host homes, and even I felt a bit overwhelmed when I first came into my new room, completely bare concrete walls with two pieces of furniture. Fortunately my counterpart came in just as I was about to have a meltdown and we drank tea on the roof looking out to the Himalayas. You can see Annapurna from where I live, no biggie.

The first night wasn't the easiest. In Duipiple, where I live, there was no electricity, so we sat all evening in torchlight. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted my new eight legged roomie who was roughly the size of my hand. Neither of us wanted to remove it so he just lives in my room now. I half expected to wake up with spider on the face, but the odds were in my favour. He has since disappeared and I've emptied my entire suitcase to make sure the cheeky bastard isn't trying to get a free ride back to the UK. I can picture the headline now (in The Sun, of course) "British volunteer brings home killer spider from Nepal, mass panic ensues".

On our first full day, Rahul and I walked up to Sami B, the highest community at 800m. Because we are absolute warriors we managed to do it an hour and I'm almost certain I'm going to lose some toe nails as it turns out my trainers are a bit too small. It also turns out that almost everything I've packed is completely useless as I was expecting cold weather when in fact it's absolutely boiling. Somebody is going to be awfully smelly within a week or two. Or now.

After an entire day of walking around the hill, we returned home to dahl baat, my number 1 most hated thing about Nepal. Dahl baat is rice and lentils and is served like clockwork everyday at 9.30am and 7pm. There are no exceptions to dahl baat. Dahl baat is life. My 8 legged friend was still missing as was the power so we embarked on the first of many, many card games. I have no doubt that I will be an absolute boss at sh*t head by the time I get back to the UK.

We've spent the last couple of days in the office and visiting two of the other communities which included a 10k walk in flip flops no less. I currently have the most disgusting traveller feet and I can't see that changing in the near future. To get to Rambazaar we took a bus which turned out to be an experience in itself. On the way home a huge argument erupted between the guy that collects the money and a passenger. I obviously had no clue what they were shouting about but it ended with the money collector getting a huge pole from the back of the bus and going for the passenger with it. Fortunately my counterpart/bodyguard helped to diffuse the situation and everyone was ok. It escalated quickly, as Ron Burgundy might say.

The first week is coming to an end and I am off to a team meeting shortly to see how everyone is getting on. More updates will follow soon.

Lizzie x

Independent Women (Part 1)

So glad I could use a Destiny's Child song for a blog title. SO GLAD.

Today is International Women's Day and it seems only fair to make this all about the sisterhood, am I right?!  I've been incredibly busy during the last week as the volunteers have finally arrived and we have moved down to Besi Sehar (main town of Lamjung) and have started our training. Although that has been fantastic, it does however mean this isn't going to be as well researched as I would have liked. But here goes.

Now, I'm no expert in International Development or gender issues, but I sure have met and heard about a lot of inspiring women. For me, it doesn't take making global change to be inspiring, but to do something empowering, unexpected or to achieve something up against the odds. For whatever reason I'd never really thought of myself as much of as a campaigner for gender equality but that has all been slowly changing over the last couple of years. Having now worked in two countries where there is an extreme difference between life for men and for women, I have opened my eyes to the situation for women around the world.

Here's some fast facts from the UN for you about the global situation:

- 60% of chronically hungry people are women and girls
- women hold only 21.4% of the world's parliamentary seats
- globally, every 3 in 10 women report having experienced physical and/or sexual violence by an intimate partner
- approximately 800 women die every day from preventable diseases during pregnancy and childbirth

Over in Britain we are currently 26th in the world rankings for Global Gender Gap, falling from 18th, the lowest ranking we've had since 2008. It's certainly not the worst, but definitely not good, as we should be improving, not slipping further down the ranks. If you'd like to know more about the growing gender gap, this is a pretty good article.

That's a pretty bleak scenario, especially as all of the above is preventable.

Now as much as all of that is very depressing and absolutely must be changed, this day is all about celebrating women, so let's look at some positives eh?! I might have cheated and taken this list from somewhere else, but you can find the original here, or you can read on to find out about some amazing human beings. The list was originally compiled by VSO, so as one of their representatives I think it's only fair that I help shine a light on these amazing individuals. So here we are:

Ganga Adhikari: it seems only right that we start with a Nepali woman. In Nepal there is an extreme caste system, but despite this, Ganga married a man from a higher caste. His family refused to accept her and wouldn't even let her serve them food. Through the VSO partner Women's Empowerment Action Forum (WEAF), Ganga became and advocate for women's rights and worked to get girls into school. She gave women a voice and eventually acceptance from her in laws.

Hon. Esther Murugi Mathenge: a Kenyan MP and former minister. Esther was the only female politician in Kenya when she started. She says "Kenyan politics is still seen as a man's world and you are a trespasser. You learn to have a thick skin. I can assure you that becoming a minister was not easy. I was a lone ranger". Once Esther was elected she built 11 health facilities in her constituencies for women who had previously had to walk long distances to reach healthcare facilities and collect water.

Samira Hashi: a campaigner against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) who was born in Somalia and grew up in London. She actively campaigns against this shocking practice at the same time as being a model and VSO ICS volunteer.

Rute Manave: Rutes husband died 15 years ago and she found out she had HIV. With the help of a VSO project supporting widows she was able to open a shop in Mozambique and can now support herself and her family.

Binti Ali Kiza: Binti was always told "women can't lead because they have periods...how can they lead when they are bleeding?". She then went on to create her own women's organisation Sauti Ya Kinamama (Voice of Women) who work to end the discrimination of women in Kenya.

Habiba Hashimu: Habiba is former sex worker from Tanzania. She was discriminated against and denied basic rights such as housing and medical care purely for being unmarried. Habiba then formed a support group that gives a voice to women born into poverty and forced into a challenging way of life. The group is registered with government authorities and free to advocate for their rights as commercial sex workers.

Well done to those ladies!

As I mentioned above, it doesn't take changing the world single handedly to be an inspiration. I myself am surrounded by women who inspire me everyday. I was brought into this world by an incredible woman also known as Mummy Sue, who is an actual angel and has given me so much support over the years and continues to do so (this day is all about women, but of course Padre you are equally as admired and loved). I can't imagine how hard it is to be a mother (especially to me!), so thank you madre. I've got great friends who are all out their doing their own thing because they can and they will. Friends who raise family whilst also building a career, showing the world that it doesn't have to be a choice of one or the other. I've met fantastic women overseas who battle daily gender inequality and help support those without a voice. I've worked with talented and ambitious women, all with hopes and dreams of their own. And of course I wouldn't be where I currently am (a Team Leader in Nepal just in case you didn't realise) without being supported by an amazing programme supervisor, but more importantly, friend, who has continued to inspire me to take on new, and to be honest terrifying, challenges. Speaking of my team, I have a very female heavy team full of exciting, enthusiastic and strong young women who are no doubt going to do incredibly well on this project.

So, on International Women's Day 2015, here's to you, inspiring women!

Lizzie x

p.s

You may have noticed that the title says part one. There will be a part two as I have been meaning to write more about the situation for women in Nepal. I think this deserves (and definitely needs) it's own post, so that will be coming once we have started our work on sexual and reproductive health work in community. So sit tight on that.

Kama Sutra & Cremation.

I'm trying to write this as quickly as possible before it all leaves my brain, but it's pretty tricky as I've learnt so much in just a few hours. 

Today was by far the best day I've had in Kathmandu. After yesterdays HUGE storm which basically turned all of Thamel into a mud bath, today was a gloriously hot sunny day and perfect for a bit of final sight seeing before the volunteers arrive tomorrow. I had only one place in mind, Pashupatinath.

Having had enough of being ripped off by taxi drivers I decided to walk the 5km to Pashupatinath, home to a beautiful temple but also the location of the Kathmandu Crematoria. That's right, I took a day to go and watch people be cremated, and my God it was incredible. 

I managed to navigate my way there easy enough and it helps that almost all tourist attractions here are surrounded by shops and monkeys, so as soon as you start to see the sale of 'singing bowls' and Tibetan prayer flags, you know you're close. Having saved a fair amount of money by avoiding taxis, I decided to hire a guide, Sumit, and was really glad I did, without him I probably wouldn't have had a clue what was going on, plus, he was a bit of a babe. Not sorry. 

Our first point of call was the Pashupatinath Temple, which non-Hindus are not allowed inside, but you can see a fair amount from the outside, up with the monkeys. Inside the grounds of the temple is a huge golden bull, which symbolises the vehicle of Shiva, and the gatekeeper for Shiva and Parvati. Inside the temple is a huge phallus statue, which is apparently a very common representation of Shiva. 

From here we headed down to the water, where the real intrigue began. As we walked up to one of the many terraces looking down to the river, I was met with the first body. Well, to be fair, I couldn't see this one, it was quite far into the process. At this point we were to the left of a bridge crossing the river, the side where the 'normal' people are cremated. Over on the other side, for 5,000 rupees more, that's where the people of 'importance' are cremated. It's also the side where the bodies are washed but I'll get to that in a bit. So from where I was standing I could see about 10 little stone platforms at the side of the river. It was relatively early so there were only 2 that were in use. Sumit explained to me that once the bodies have been washed, they are brought over to a platform and put onto the wood. The family then walk around the body 3 times before the eldest male starts the fire. During this time the family do not cry or get upset, because Hindus believe that that stops the soul from leaving the body. The body is covered with straw and the fire is started in the mouth, because this is where the last breath left the body. 

I should probably add in here that up until 1925, wives would jump into the fire with their dead husbands. If they weren't killed by the fire, then they were beaten to death by the family. And this was only made illegal less than 100 years ago. I've added it to my mental list of why it sucks to be a woman in Nepal, which I shall be blogging about soon. 

According to Sumit it takes around 3 hours to cremate a man but 4 for a woman, because 'old Nepali women are very fat'. He did however add that I would only take 2, so that's nice to know. When the body has completely cremated, the ashes are thrown into the river, which much further down the line goes into the River Ganges.

After watching one of the Professional Burners (genuinely their actual title- you think your job sucks?) poke the fire for a little while we crossed over the bridge to watch the preparation of a body. 

Now, I never intended to ever see a dead body, here or anywhere else, but it really was a very odd feeling. I didn't feel particular upset by this sight, having not known the person and they did seem very old, I just felt very strange, at the end of the day we are all made up of the same stuff. In Nepal they cremate the bodies very soon after death, so the man I saw had only been dead for no more than 24 hours tops. I think the most morbid part about this place is that they've decided to place Nepal's only government funded hospice right next to where the bodies are prepared. What's more, just round the corner is an old people's home, just so you can truly be reminded of what's coming to you. There's clearly nothing better than looking out of your window and thinking, "well, that's probably me next, someone get the fire ready". 

So anyway, we stood on the riverbank and watched the preparation of the body. The man was lying on a special stone on the riverside and his clothes were removed before his family washed him. The feet are put into the river so that it can wash away the sins of the deceased, and the face is washed. The body is wrapped in white cloth and then a special orange cloth is put on top. I found out today that orange is the colour of sacrifice to both Hindus and Buddhists, which is why Buddhist monks wear orange robes. Once the body was covered they sprinkled red powder over it which symbolises purity and is used frequently in Hindu ceremonies, festivals and in daily life. From here they carry the body over to one of the platforms I mentioned above and start the cremating ceremony. I'm not going to lie, it was incredibly fascinating. My guide said it must be very different to what we do in the UK and I couldn't help but imagine what a nightmare it would be if we all started bathing our deceased in the Thames. I also started to think about how it would be to live in a country so focussed around tradition and religion, but I'll be writing about this later.

This is the only photo I'm going to upload because I don't think it's right to post photos of someone else's dead relative. On the right you can see 2 of the platforms in use. 

We then headed up to the top of the nearby terraces where there are 11 temples, which represent the 11 wives of a guy who's name escapes me. Sumit decided to chime in that if he had a beautiful wife like me, then just 1 would be enough. What a charmer. We then walked a little higher and I got a great view over the whole of Pashupatinath. Sumit (or should we call him Chief Charmer) took this photo, and told me not to worry about falling over the side because he is superman and he would save me. 

  

On the way back down to the river we saw some Sadhus, and I have seen a few of them out and about, but finally gave in to tourist temptation and got some photos (you have to give them money to do so). Sadhus are religious or holy men and there are 4 types: the naked ones, the hashish smoking ones, the entertainers who play music and the ones that I can't quite remember. Sadhus are considered dead to themselves and must remain celibate for their whole lives. To avoid temptation, the naked Sadhus cover themselves in the ashes of the dead in order to repulse women. If that doesn't work then I don't know what would. The hashish smoking sadhus are the only ones in Nepal who can smoke cannabis legally. So no to sex, but yes to drugs. Of course, here I am pictured with the naked, ash covered type.

       

After the sadhu excitement, we visited a small temple which is for the goddess Kali. Kali is usually pictured looking fierce as f***, because she is the goddess of destruction (in some forms. I've not got to grips completely with all of the gods, goddesses, incarnations etc). All around this small temple are carvings taken from the Kama Sutra, which have been put there to guard the main Pashupatinath temple from lightning. The logic behind this is that Kumari (remember her from before? Strange young child locked in a temple?) is the goddess of lightning, but because she is so young she doesn't know about sex so instead of destroying the main temple, she'll aim for this smaller one instead. All of this came from Sumit, so correct me if you know better.

Kali's temples are also a place for sacrifice, namely blood and alcohol. Many years ago it used to be that of the human sacrifice. They would trick a man into being sacrificed and then slit his throat in the shrine. They would then remove his little finger and then host a big dinner for men in the local area. The finger would be placed into the vegetables and whoever got the finger in their dinner would be the next sacrifice. These days they just go for animal sacrifices, which are one of each of the following: cow, sheep, duck, goat and chicken. Only male animals are sacrificed, because the females are needed for reproduction. According to Sumit, there is a really fair way of telling if an animal wants to be sacrificed...they simply chuck some water on it's head and if it shakes its head then it's ready. If it doesn't shake its head then they simply keep throwing water onto its head. Really fair that, really fair. 

The final point of call was the old peoples home, which houses over 200 elderly Nepalis. Oh my, elderly Nepalis are incredibly sweet! They are so tiny and so wrinkly I just wanted to hug all of them. Sumit is clearly friends with the whole geriatric community and one lady told us that because he is Nepali and I am white then we would make a great couple. Well that Russian fortune teller did say I would marry a South Asian man, so maybe he wasn't so wrong after all.

At the end of the tour I politely declined the offer to go to tea and spent some more time back at the river watching the cremations. It seems like a very strange way to spend such a beautiful day but I can honestly say it's the most fascinating thing I've ever seen. There aren't really enough words.

Not too far from Pashupatinath is Boudhanath, home to Boudha Stupa, Nepal's largest Buddhist Stupa. Funnily enough I didn't fancy lunch at Pashupati and decided to go and bask in the Sun at the Stupa. I don't know too much about the stupa as there wasn't a guide or much information. What I can share with you however, is lots and lots of photos. 

This is what happens when you ask someone who can't speak English to take your photo. 

It was still lovely and sunny in the afternoon so I walked back to Thamel and had the longest, most thorough shower I've had in a long while. Now my hair smells much more like Herbal Essences and much less like the burning of dead bodies. 

Lizzie x

Escape to the Country.

Yesterday wasn’t my finest hour. I don’t think it came across so much in the previous post, but I wasn’t having the best of times. I’d slept really badly and was generally being aggravated by absolutely everything. It happens sometimes.

Today however, much better! It’s a miracle really as again I didn’t sleep too well, I was too busy trying to get as little of the duvet touching my skin but at the same time staying warm. To say the least, last nights hotel made me glad I’d had all my vaccinations. Despite being served a spicy potato curry for breakfast (you can only begin to imagine my thoughts on this), I was actually feeling really positive and ready to face the long day ahead.

And what a long day it has been. We started off again in Duipiple, popping into the office and visiting the other host home, which, may I add, has a cute baby. Bonus points to this house, and I’m already super jealous of whoever gets to live there. From here the details get a bit hazy because I can’t quite remember the order of the villages, but basically we visited the four other places within Lamjung. Essentially all of the villages are in a line along the valley, so once I get used to it, it should be easy enough to get around.

Casually stopping mid River Road to wash the bus. 

When I say easy to get around, I mean easy to navigate. Getting around isn’t quite so easy and there’s going to be a lot of walking over the next few months. Fortunately for our visits today, we had a jeep. I was a bit dubious of the driver; he didn’t really seem to slow down too much- not even when small rocks from the roadside were tumbling down the steep verges of the mountain (hill? Not sure). Luckily I was in a really positive frame of mind and took it as one of those occasions where you just need to sit back, keep smiling and have faith. We managed to complete the day in one piece so that’s the most important part.

The view from the top of one of the mountain villages.

Not entirely sure what this was for, but something ceremonial from one of the village schools.

Some host family members. 

The view from my host home. 

Visiting the host homes and village schools really opened my eyes to life in Rural Nepal. Although we did see one place yesterday, today really was a learning experience. I’m going to need to get some decent photos because words really don’t do it much justice. Lamjung valley is so vast and so, so beautiful. It’s getting really hot here now and so standing up at the top of one of the mountains looking down over the whole area was simply amazing. It’s quite dusty at the moment but on a clear day I’ll be able to see even more. Although the standard of living is nothing like what I’m used to, the volunteers living in the remote host homes are going to have such a wonderful experience. There are almost no vehicles and virtually every home has it’s own mini-farm. All of the homes I visited have chickens, most have goats and some have cows too. One home also had a family of monkeys sat outside, but I don't think these are very welcome as they steal the crops. Seeing lots of baby goats definitely improved my already chirpy mood. Above all else, it’s so very peaceful. Kathmandu is great, but so noisy and so dirty. Going out to Lamjung was literally a breath of fresh air.

Once we’d visited all four of the villages, which for me mostly just involved awkwardly smiling whilst everyone chatted away in Nepali, we drove up to Besi Sahar, which is where I’m currently spending a very relaxed evening. Besi Sahar is probably the closest thing to a large town anywhere near Lamjung and is where I’ll be returning to in just over a week to do the in-community training with the volunteers. 

I’m feeling very smug right now because not only do I have power and Internet in my room, but I’ve also got a western toilet AND a semi-decent mattress. To top it all off, one of the local people bought me a Dairy Milk earlier. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Lizzie x

The Sticks.

What does this look like to you? A stream, right?

Wrong! This is the road. A part of the road that our jeep had to manoeuvre through as we went out to do community visits on Sunday. The journey was actually much easier than I expected and the roads far less scary. For the most part we had “black roads” (surfaced) and the roads were wide enough for two cars. Bonus.

Navigating what I have now titled 'River Road'

Once in the community it dawned on me just how rural and remote Lamjung is. I’m not going to pretend to know how to spell any of the places in my district, but I’ll give it a shot. There are 6 areas where my volunteers are placed: Duieiple, Rhambazaar, Samibhangyang, Suryabal, Sotibasal and Jitabesi. What a mouthful.

I’m in Duieiple (pronounced doo-ip-le-play) sharing a house with a couple, one of their mothers and my counterpart. I get my own room which is great, but it does mean I’ll be the sole victim if the spiders decide to get in. Swings and roundabouts.

Lamjung itself is absolutely beautiful. It was a gloriously sunny day when we arrived which probably helped, but set in a leafy valley with a mountainous backdrop the place was never going to not impress.

When we visited the host homes the difference in living conditions dawned on me, and due to a lack of sleep the night before I did begin to panic and think “what am I doing here?!”. I won’t lie to you, I was completely overwhelmed for a moment. One quick look from the balcony out over the valley was enough to calm these emotions and I’m sure I’ll adjust to it just as quickly as I did in Khujand (see also my own self declared importance of adaptation).

The host homes and schools are lovely and friendly, although with the language barrier it’d be hard to tell otherwise. We only went to two of the villages, so have many more places to visit tomorrow. One of the host homes has a gorgeous little baby girl who reminds me so much of Farzona, my host baby sister in Tajikistan. I’m a bit gutted to not have any young children in my host home this time round, they really do brighten the place up.

Life in rural Nepal is going to be so much different to anything I’ve ever experienced. Everything that I actually need is here, even if it is a basic version. The lack of completely unnecessary things that I would usually have in my life are not here and I am already feeling very content at the prospect leading a much simpler life. The people in this area of Nepal have managed to live this long without much western interference and I am glad to be living in an environment that is based on needs and not wants. There won’t be anyone here complaining that they don’t have an iPhone 6, that’s for sure.

Of course I say this now, but in a weeks time and I’m aching for a proper loo and am covered in mozzie bites (there’s no glass in the windows anywhere I’ve visited so far, KTM and Lamjung), I’ll probably be singing a different song. But for now, it’s refreshing and there isn’t a selfie stick in sight. Long may it stay that way.

Lizzie x

Updates and Adaptation.

It’s been a little while since I last posted and I’ll tell you for why. I’ve been here for just over two weeks now and I’m now totally comfortable in Kathmandu. I know roughly where things are, I know how much I’ll be ripped off by taxi drivers and I know where to get cheap mo-mos that won’t make my stomach cry. Because of this, it’s making the strange events that happen almost daily very, very normal. What I would have initially found very strange and/or exciting is now pretty much day-to-day life. When I first arrived there were a million things I could have written about that are completely different to the UK. Now however, I am not even noticing these things and the UK comparisons stopped almost as soon as they started.

Don’t get me wrong, I still notice things that make me do a double take (for example last week I witnessed a monkey being electrocuted on overhead cables just above pedestrians), it’s just that there aren’t so many of these moments now. And that’s perfectly ok by me.

Not noticing the difference in environment is all a part of adaptation, something I’ve become fairly good at over the last few years having moved a fair few times. Adaptation is also an absolutely crucial part of this programme. If you can’t get used to a new, and more than likely difficult, environment, then you’re really going to struggle. Learning to live in another part of the world isn’t always easy, but it’s certainly not impossible. I’ve been lucky enough to spend plenty of time in Kathmandu so it’s been pretty easy going, but my group of volunteers, they’ll be going almost straight into community, with a couple of days in between for training.

My next challenge is going to be adapting to the community, which is going to be a completely different kettle of fish. I’m expecting rural, I’m expecting basic and I’m expecting challenges. However, having lived in a community different to my own, I’m also expected warmth, hospitality and a home to call my own. I leave tomorrow so I’ll no doubt post an update as soon as possible.

Speaking of updates, this post was supposed to include them. Over the last week I have attended two rounds of Pre-placement Training (PPT) for the Nepali volunteers. Having already has this training myself in the UK, it was interesting to see it from another point of view. Luckily it was all conducted in English and I was able to facilitate sessions on the Millennium Development Goals, as previously mentioned, as well as conflict management. It was really great to do the session as I was able to get practice for when I conduct my own training, and also just good to interact with the initially very shy Nepali volunteers.

Once the PPT was over I had a well deserved day off and spent this with my counterpart Raul and another UK team leader, SJ. We subjected Raul to an excruciating experience in the tailors but then I softened the blow with ice cream. In case you’ve not seen, here is my wonderful new Nepali outfit. Can’t wait to wander the streets of Kent in this when I get home.

It was a gloriously sunny day so we had lunch at a rooftop restaurant and then had a really hardcore Friday night in watching movies. I was off again on Saturday so met up with two other TLs, Tayler and Annabel, who have been an absolute God send, providing me with all the information about the previous cycle of volunteers. We went to a wonderful little farmers market before heading to the Garden of Dreams to bask in the sunshine. It’s so much hotter than I expected and I may be forced into buying some new clothes for this unexpected heat. What a shame…

That brings me pretty much up to date and I’m sure I’ll have plenty more to talk about next time.

Lizzie x 

The Millennium Development Goals in Nepal.

From the creative title, you may have realised that this post is about the Millennium Development Goals in relation to Nepal. It took me a long time to think of that one you know. There was also the potential for 'The Millennium Development Goals in Nepal in Relation to Youth Volunteering as well as the Future of Sustainable Goals' but I just didn't think that was as catchy...

For those of you who don't know, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs for short) are 8 goals to be achieved by 2015 that respond to the world's main development challenges. The MDGs are drawn from the actions and targets contained in the Millennium Declaration that was adopted by 189 nations and signed by 147 heads of state and governments during the UN Millennium Summit in September 200. There are 21 quantifiable targets that are measured by 60 indicators.

The goals are:
1. Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
2. Achieve universal primary education
3. Promote gender equality and empower women
4. Reduce child mortality
5. Improve maternal health
6. Combat HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases
7. Ensure environmental sustainability
8. Develop a global partnership for development

You can find out plenty more about them on the UN website.

And why is it that I'm telling you this? One, because it's really interesting and two, because I'm doing a session about it to the Nepali volunteers tomorrow at their pre-placement training (PPT). It's also incredibly relevant to the ICS programme as the projects involved help to achieve these targets, especially in areas where youth are involved. Naturally, I'm procrastinating, but I'm thinking of it as a sharing of knowledge. If I write it up here then it will definitely be in my brain by tomorrow. 100%.

Back to the MDGs.

As I mentioned in a previous post, Nepal has a number of development issues, mostly in the areas of health and education. With the introduction of the MDGs, a number of frameworks have been put in place to work towards achieving these goals. The Nepal government have been committed to achieving their goals and there has in fact been a huge improvement in a number of areas. As of 2013, Nepal is on track and is likely to achieve most of it's MDG targets. It has already achieved the target of reducing maternal mortality by three quarters and has halted and begun to reverse the incidence of malaria and other diseases. Other targets that it is likely to achieve are to eradicate extreme poverty and hunger, reduce child mortality, reduce biodiversity loss and achieve universal access to reproductive health. A great job so far, but still a long way to go, especially in regards to gender equality which is it's only goal  not likely to be achieved.

It's really important for ICS volunteers to look at the MDGs in training and during the programme so that they can see how their projects help towards these goals. Often it can be hard to see a positive change being made when progress can be so slow, and often the expectations of the volunteers can be very high. Although you may not change the world in a 12 week programme (and by may not, I mean, will not), by looking at the projects in relation to these goals then you can see the long term effect that they will have. It's amazing that the volunteers come to the programme with such enthusiasm, ideas and motivation, but sometimes in reality it can be very demotivating when you see no immediate change. I myself have felt this before and no doubt as a Team Leader I will be reiterating the point above to my own team at some point.

It has now been 15 years since these goals were set and there is still a long way to go, however, the goals have now been evaluated and in their place have come Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs- so many acronymns, I know, honestly not a disease though). The SDGs are of even more importance to young volunteers as they have come from a consultation of a youth forum. The youth forum were consulted directly and discussed ways in which young people can and are helping to manage the shift from the MDGs to the SDGs. By consulting with the youth forum, the SDGs also ensure that the needs and priorities of all youth are at the centre of the future development agenda and its implementation. Youth volunteering is key in the implementation of these goals and that is one of the reasons I am so pleased and privileged to be involved not once, but twice, in this kind of activity. In my opinion it is key that young people are consulted and actively involved in development work.

Now, that was a little heavy, and even I feel a bit confused (if anything is incorrect, please let me know!), so here's a lovely little animation about the MDGs. It's a little bit old now but some really interesting and still relevant statistics:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3p2VLTowAA

Lizzie x